SPN recs #10

[snick_backup]

Yay recs! Quite a mixed bag this time: some AUs, a lot of Sam-and-Dean, a Ruby fic, and my first recs from spn_summergen. (I had plans to read all the Summergen stories this year before the reveal, but it now occurs to me that my time between now and then is pretty packed. Hmm.)

Unthemed Recs
Residual Self-Image, by architeuthis
One-shot.
Folks, this is an AU. This is a Matrix AU. This is an AU in which Castiel is a piece of software who borrows the hardware of one Jimmy Novak (it's kind of a time-share thing). This is glorious and dripping with good language and very idea-dense, and the punchline is a killer. I only wish it were ten times as long.

The Girl From Outside, by honeylocusttree
One-shot. Spoilers through pilot, I guess? Sort of?
In which the Winchesters are members of the highly secretive and little studied subculture known as hunters, and Jess is an anthropology student who gets a chance to interview them. Only, her visit turns out to be a lot more eventful than she was inspecting. This is a very nifty perspective on a universe that's a few steps to the right of canon, with characterizations that are very much in keeping with our characters. All around very crunchy and thought-provoking.

High School Musical, by ficwriter1966
One-shot. Pre-series, no spoilers.
John's gone on a hunt, Sam's busy with tons of after-school activities, and Dean... well, Sam's not sure what Dean does all day. Neat caretaking!Sam in this one. It's one of those pre-series depictions of our boys that just shatters me; I'm pretty sure I've teared up every time I read it.

castles are burning in my heart, by thinkatory
One-shot. Spoilers through 4.22
One of the best character studies of Ruby I have ever seen, from her human days, full of first doubt and the choice to seize what power she can, through her time in hell. Alastair is very much himself, cheerful in his sadism, but Lilith is even more terrifying. Wonderful, wonderful stuff here.

These Mortals Be, by debbiel66
Multi-part. Spoilers through 5.03.
Big, plotty Sam-and-Dean reconciliation fic that also contains young!Sam and young!Dean and (off-screen) fairies and h/c. How could that be not-awesome? Answer: it can't. I loved the characterizations of everyone and the interactions between the adult Winchesters and their younger selves. Not to be missed!

it would be this, by amonitrate
Multi-part. Spoilers through 6.09.
Y'all know how I love RoboSam and am forever wishing for more fic about him. (Which, why is there such a paltry selection? How does everyone not love him as much as I do?) (That's a rhetorical question.) And this, folks, is the RoboSam fic I've been waiting for. It's from his POV, which I consider to be a major accomplishment in itself; it's got him taking care of Dean after a hunt; it's got lots of Lisa being amazing; it's sympathetic to all parties but (IMO) blind to none of their faults. It's a glorious character study and snapshot of this time period, and it will break your heart for pretty much everyone in it.

Summergen Recs
These Days I Wander Alone, by anon
One-shot. Stanford era.
One stormy and less-than-sober night, Dean offers a ride to the a girl on the highway. Another quiet piece, simple and simply told, with a lovely sense of setting and of Dean's state of mind during this part of pre-canon.

Let Me See the Mark Death Made, by anon
One-shot. Spoilers for S4.
The author's note suggests this is an AU of 4.01, but actually it pulls together themes and plot points for all of S4 and ties them together in a story where everyone's a little more open with each other and Dean has a little harder time coping with the immediate aftereffects of hell. It's a fix-it fic, I suppose, and thus functions partly as meta, but also it's a compelling glimpse of the landscape inside of Dean's head, that first while after he came back.

Betwixt the Blue and the Green, by anon
One-shot. Spoilers through 7.17.
This is a gorgeous, quiet character study of Emmanuel, his relationships with Daphne, and his plot arc through 7.17. The language here is very nice, and the fic gave me a better grip on both Emmanuel and Daphne than I'd had before.

Original entry posted at Dreamwidth. Feel free to reply here or there. ( DW replies)

Comments

[architeuthis.livejournal.com]

Hey, thank you. I'm very flattered. :)

[snickfic]

I really loved it quite a lot. It has an extremely high love/word ratio in my book. :)

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

The Matrix AU sounds like my jam. Thanks for that. And the ~rest. I second "castles are burning".

... Okay, I just went and read These Days I Wander Alone. CREYS. I memorised.

[snickfic]

EXCELLENT. Glad to be of service. And "castles are burning" did not get enough attention (unless it's being given in some other forum I'm not aware of)? I'm doing my small best to right that.

[geckoholic]

Thank you SO much for the rec! :D

(I wrote These Days I Wander Alone. ;) And thanks for the rec on roundtable, too!!)

[snickfic]

You are most welcome! :)